Help me find the words

November 2, 2014 12:13 AM

I'm exploring career possibilities and wondering if what I want to do has a name. I'll explain inside.

I'd like to work with research and other organisations and create learning/outreach material about the work they do. I could also occasionally work indendently on a self-initiated idea. I would gather content, make decisions about the publication type, write, edit, design. I'd love to make books, rich resource-filled websites, posters, exhibits, curricula for courses, etc. For adults and children.

I've called myself a 'communication designer' so far but I'm tired of just working on the visual design. I'd like to get involved in actually creating content and planning it too. I'm not very interested in branding or other corporate communication; what I've been drawn to is communicating ideas and the work of interesting organisations. I'm too introverted to teach but I love education.

I've been wanting to look up other people with similar careers but I can't find seem to find the words to describe it. Help!

posted by miaow to Work & Money (4 answers total)

Best answer: I once interviewed for a role at a technology non-profit that was very similar to what you're describing. The job title was Communications Writer.
posted by neushoorn at 1:11 AM on November 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

Community (or Public) Outreach Coordinator
Director of Development
PR Director
posted by joebakes at 2:05 AM on November 2, 2014

Best answer: Sounds like you're interested in Instructional Design?
posted by yarntheory at 8:44 AM on November 2, 2014

Best answer: This is probably not exactly what you had in mind, but I just wanted to give you more words to consider...in medical and behavioral research, a big deal is bridging the gap between cutting edge research (think randomized clinical trials, conducted by academics) and real-world clinical practice settings (think busy general practitioners, who are overworked and treat a wide variety of conditions -- unlikely to keep up with all the latest research). The task of spreading the good news of evidence-based practices is usually called dissemination. Certain research groups have a dissemination director or team. Dissemination can be done in any number of ways...newsletters, social media, in-person or web-based presentations, pamphlets, etc. A related term is implementation science.

You may also have some interest in the concept of shared decision making. This is also kind of a big deal in medical and behavioral science right now. It is all about designing tools/aids for helping patients make their treatment decisions in collaboration with their doctor. A good tool would distill the essential pieces of medical research, and clearly communicate the implications of treatment decisions to a lay audience. These tools could be paper-based, or interactive websites, or practically anything. See this from Mayo clinic for a rundown and some examples. It might be of interest to look at who made some of these, and find out what their titles are.
posted by mean square error at 6:17 PM on November 3, 2014